Astrallic language
|fam2 = |fam3 = |fam4 = |dia1 = |dia2 = |dia3 = |script = |nation = |agency = |minority = |map = Astrallic - percentage of daily speakers.png |mapsize = |mapcaption = Percentage of daily speakers of Astrallic per baronetcy. |date = 2014 |speakers = 891.320 (2015) |fam5 = |states = Seafaring Confederation Rockall }} The Astrallic language (Astrallic: Astráilge; Rockallian: Astralge; Fernolian: Astraeg) is the smallest of three recognised national languages in Rockall, spoken mostly in northern An Móir Leautheinn. It is spoken as the first language by 891.320 people in Rockall according to the 2015 census, most of whom reside in An Móir Leautheinn and the general Lóda na Núille region. A Rockallic language, Astrallic belongs to the family of and is most closely related to Rockallian, with which it is historically coterminous and which separated from Astrallic as a language in the 18th century under the influence of Irish immigration and general international relations in the metropolite parts of the country. As an official language of Rockall, all government communication must include an Astrallic translation. Speakers also have the right to use Astrallic in all parliaments and councils on the island, and citizens are allowed to use Astrallic when interacting with any administrative personnel. These rights are not extended into the private sphere, although they are generally accepted, especially in areas with a relatively large community of Astrallic speakers. Astrallic has suffered from a declining number of speakers since the 1950s, when their numbers especially dwindled in An Uinnia, the Rockallic Federal District and the Régnich na Nuardh region. This decline reached its lowest point in 1995, when the census registered 722.833 speakers, after which the number of speakers gradually increased again. Name The current name Astráilge is derived from Old Astrallic Astraga Láilgo, meaning "everyone's language". History Current status Use Astrallic varieties ' 1: Gléaoinnenoileun dialect 2: Nuardtheaobhoinn Astrallic 3: Aibheauirnenneaoigh Astrallic 4: Moors Astrallic 5: Ravenwold dialect 6: Northern Sources Astrallic 'Valley Astrallic' 7: Mearwold dialect 8: Northern Bay Astrallic 9: Meuirlsegleoin dialect 10: Beuirsegleoin dialect 11: Southern Bay Astrallic 'Northern Astrallic' 12: Northern Fields Astrallic 13: Cave Astrallic 14: Highland Astrallic 15: An Óibh Astrallic 16: Pen na Mára Astrallic 17: Régnich na Nuardh Astrallic 18: Mhólanne Astrallic 19: Líchthiach Thiair Astrallic '''20: Lewvale Astrallic' Southern Astrallic 21: An Uinnia Astrallic 22: Gleoin na Bhéithe Astrallic 23: Central Southern Astrallic 24: Upper South Coast Astrallic 25: Middle South Coast Astrallic 26: Lower South Coast Astrallic 27: Eoighearr Astrallic Areas that are white and not numbered do not have a community large enough to have its own dialect continuum of Astrallic.]] Astrallic dialects are found all over the island of Rockall, and generally have a larger area of use when the number of users is low, mostly out of the necessity of clear communication between communities. For national and Confederate communication, Standard Astrallic is used. This is the variety of Astrallic spoken in Nuardhtheaobhoinn and the surrounding areas. Other regions can have other dialects, which often differ to some extent from the standard variety. Though virtually present everywhere on the island of Rockall, An Oilíana hÓ Dhéase and An Eoila tÓ Nuarth have such a low number of Astrallic speakers that it is linguistically infeasible to assign them to any specific variety. Dialect groups Astrallic is divided into five dialect groups, with 27 sub-dialects and countless more local varieties of those dialects contained within them. Wold Astrallic is spoken in and around the baronies of Aoin na Ghúireachanne and Gléaoinnenoileun. It is the dialect group with the most users, as it is concentrated in and around one of the few areas of Rockall where Astrallic is the most used language. It is characterised by its archaic nature, which can be seen in the continuing use of the , and cases, most of which have been lost in the other dialect groups. It is also the dialect with the most unique vocabulary, as it has had mostly no influence from other languages on Rockall. Valley Astrallic is spoken in the baronies of An Éainna and Gléaoin na Bhléithiái, as well as on the Meoirr peninsula. Though having lost the accusative and dative cases, it still uses the genitive. However, especially near the coast, there is a unique use of the , which was introduced mainly by Rockallian speakers in An Éainna, who used it in their own dialect. Northern Astrallic is spoken in the viscountcies of Cóste Ígheainne and Líchthiach Thiair, as well as in a small region in the northwest of An Thir na tÁirdteachd. The dialect group is greatly influenced by Fernolian and Welsh, which has resultated in an overall , as well as according to Welsh grammar rules in some places. Welsh has also had an impact on general vocabulary, especially in the Loch Mhólanne area. Lewvale Astrallic is spoken in the Rockallic Federal District except for the baronetcy of Géadhn. Of all varieties of Astrallic, it is most different from the Nuardtheaobhoinn variety, but also very different from Rockallian and Fernolian, to the point that some linguists have suggested that it could be categorised as the "fourth language of Rockall". It is characterised by a complete loss of suffix-based cases, with the genitive, accusitive and dative being conveyed through instead, making it the only tonal variety of any language on Rockall. Uniquely to any European language, a has been gradually introduced into this variety since the 1930s, replacing the /m/ sound before the diphthongs /au/, /ou/ and /eu/, making it not only the sole Indo-European language using clicks, but also one of the only a handful languages in the world that have a bilabial click in its generally accepted phonology. Southern Astrallic is spoken in An Uinnia and most of An Thir na tÁirdteachd, as well as in the baronetcy of Géadhn in the Rockallic Federal District. Whereas Northern Astrallic has been influenced by Fernolian and Welsh, Southern Astrallic has seen a greater influence from Rockallian and Irish, and is the variety of Astrallic that approximates Rockallian the most, to the point that linguists have seen Astrallic and Rockallian dialects in these regions slowly merging since the 1970s. It is believed that most Southern Astrallic dialects will have merged with Rockallian dialects to create Astrallo-Rockallic dialects around 2035. Phonology Consonants Vowels Syntax and morphology Orthography See also *Languages of Rockall *History of the Astrallic language Category:Languages of Rockall